Target Awards Early Childhood Reading Grant to Jane Addams

The first-grade teaching team at Jane Addams School recently received an Early Childhood Reading Grant valued at $2,000 from Target.

The grant allowed the teachers to give each of their students two new books to use in the classroom, and then to keep for themselves. The grant also included English and Spanish parent guides to distribute to the students’ families, and lesson plans to guide the teachers as they read the books in their classes.

Jane Addams is one of just 180 schools in the country selected to receive this grant. Target stores across the nation selected one school within their boundaries to recommend for the grant, and the Palatine Target store nominated Jane Addams, which was chosen to receive the grant by Operation Outreach—USA.

Operation Outreach—USA is the not-for-profit organization that oversees Target’s Early Childhood Reading Grant program. It partners with businesses large and small, foundations, and individuals, and works with them to improve literacy in low-income schools by giving books to children, lesson plans to teachers, and guides to parents. Its goal is to help children learn to read and expand their knowledge base while building a child’s character and self-esteem. Its specially chosen books and teacher-designed lesson plans help teach young children values such as respect, responsibility, courage, leadership, and determination.

-Story Submitted by Community Consolidated School District 15